


we have yet to know

by OrphanText



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 18:56:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5638180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrphanText/pseuds/OrphanText
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vampires!AU in which Hakuba and Edogawa are both vampires, with Kuroba and Hattori as their providers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *Shinichi is a separate character on his own in this series  
> *Alternatively titled 'A pain in my you-know-where' in my head and titled as 'The surprise is... you guessed it! Vampires.' on my google docs.
> 
> Unbeta-ed
> 
> If anyone has any idea what else to tag this as, I'll be grateful.
> 
> Mostly I just want to roll around in this universe (very self indulgent). No specific plot. Non-chronological order. Some chapters may be longer and others shorter depending on how I feel about writing out each scene. Featuring a lot of slow build, no plot, socially awkward Hakuba, conveniently missing Shinichi and way too mature Conan.
> 
> Rating to be further advised.

“You’re still obsessed with the Kuroba kid?”

Hakuba doesn’t give Conan the satisfaction of turning around and giving the boy an actual glare. Instead, he scrolls to the bottom of the page, then saves the information for later perusal. “It’s not an obsession. I am only working in the best interests of the public to put a known criminal behind bars.”

There’s a moment when there is nothing but the sound of the soccer replay on the TV, then Conan shifts from where he is on the sofa to pillow his head on the armrest. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Saguru-nii san.”

::

“Oww ~ OUCH!” Hands grab onto his shoulders, finger digging painfully in through his uniform. “One of these days, I’m going to lodge a complaint against you for mistreatment. I swear you’re doing it on purpose.”

“You signed the agreement,” Hakuba reminds him, lapping over the small wound he’s made before blood could stain the clothes. He does so hate making a mess.

“Yes, and I regret that decision every single day.” Kuroba lets go of Hakuba’s shoulders, and crosses his arms before him. “Hurry up, I have a soccer game to play. No one’s going to wait all day.”

It has been two weeks since Hakuba’s moved in to Ekoda, Japan, and two weeks since Kuroba Kaito has been signed on as his secondary. His primary had been reluctant to leave England, seeing as she was still studying for her Masters, and so he had to contract someone else for their blood temporarily, at least for the period of time that he will be in Japan. It is a nifty system, one that works for both parties’ benefit, a legal business contract fully recognised by the law. Humans are free to sign up for the programme, providing their blood as either a primary provider or a secondary for vampires at a cost stated in their contract, with stringent laws set in place to protect both parties.

Bless his luck that of all the candidates in Japan, he’s managed to contract Kaitou Kid (not that the boy has admitted to it, but it’s still a work in progress on Hakuba’s end) as his secondary.

“You really should think about why his name is on the list,” Conan had told him disapprovingly while hanging over the back of the sofa with a book he is trying to read upside down when he discovered Hakuba’s apparent ‘obsession’.

Conan, Hakuba feels, needs to learn to keep his opinions to himself.

Ⓧ


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 短的  
> The rest I will hoard until I have finished another segment

“Your takeaway delivery is here,” Kaito sing songs as he unbuttons his outer shirt, strolling into Hakuba’s study. “Hello, Conan. Is that homework?”

Hakuba’s immediate response is beautiful: he nearly upsets his cup of tea, drops his pen, and begins spluttering. Kaito aims a triumph grin at Conan, who only looks unimpressed, and returns to his homework. It looks a little complicated for his age, and Kaito whistles when he sneaks a peek at the topmost question.

“Someone’s jumping grades, I see.”

“Aren’t you here for Hakuba nii-san?” And ouch, the boy is cold as ever. Still, it doesn’t stop him from producing a lollipop from his hand with a flourish.

“I brought you candy,” Kaito says when Conan only stares at the brightly wrapped candy. “You put it in your mouth, and you eat it.” He grins when Conan snatches it out of his hand, the young vampire glaring balefully from behind his large spectacles. “One day you’ll be as clever as your Hakuba-nii san.”

Conan puts up with his ruffling his hair for about three seconds, then bats his hand away irritably. “I hope not.”

“Manners, Conan-kun.” Hakuba clears his throat, having recovered from his little coughing fit. “Kuroba, please don’t talk about yourself like that.”

“Why not? It’s true.” He sheds his shirt, and tugs at the collar of the thin cotton shirt he’s wearing underneath to further expose his neck. “Come here and get your food. I don’t want to be standing here all day.”


	3. Chapter 3

Hakuba always bites a little harder after a heist.

Kaito is all too aware of the sharp, blue eyes on him just a feet away as sharp teeth pierce through his skin to tap into his jugular, digging into his flesh in search of the vein. On any other day, Kaito would be kicking up a fuss about the pain just to annoy Hakuba, but he only stares up at the dark ceiling with watering eyes, biting back on the groan of pain that the bite elicits, and cards his fingers gently through soft blonde hair in an attempt to distract himself. He cannot help the sharp intake of air when teeth slide out from his flesh with a quiet sucking noise, and tightens his hold on the back of Hakuba’s neck warningly, glancing towards Conan, who is still sucking impassively on his carton of strawberry milk, and doesn’t seem to have noticed much yet.

Relaxing back into the cushions now that the worst of it is over, Kaito pets at Hakuba’s hair absently while the vampire feeds from him. Conan is still young, highly impressionable the way children are, even though he is by far too mature for his age (Kaito blames that bit on Hakuba). It wouldn’t be good if he somehow gets the impression by watching them that feeding from the neck hurts his provider. He is still feeding from the wrist, not having learned to latch on properly yet due to his age. Feeding doesn’t have to hurt, but since it is Hakuba’s way of getting back at him after a heist, Kaito allows him the small victories. It just isn’t something that Kaito would want for Conan to pick up on, just saying.

Speaking of heists - last night had been  _ hilarious _ . The Kid task force had put up a merry goose chase for him through the museum. Nakamori-keibu had even been sporting enough to try to trick a trickster, which he really appreciates, but saw through that one rather quickly. He had left them in a tangle of silly string and confetti while making off with the target on the fifth floor, and Hakuba he had personally left in the Glass Gallery with a giant expanding balloon that had held him stuck against the glass wall. The media had apparently found it hilarious, and had taped it all down until the task force came to the detective’s rescue. Kaito made sure he’s taped down the news recording of it, as well as bookmarking all the videos uploaded to youtube.

All in all, a great night for Kaito and a terribly humiliating one for Hakuba, even though the target did not turn out to be Pandora, but that was already expected.

Hakuba is lapping at his neck, tongue dragging over the puncture marks, so that means that he is probably done with his feeding. Kaito glances down at his watch. Ten minutes, so the detective was likely pretty hungry. He doesn’t blame him - anyone would be after having to run up and down multiple flights of stairs for the night. 

“How old until chibi learns to latch onto here?” Kaito taps a finger above the bite wound on his neck when Hakuba pulls away. “Geez, Hakuba, you hungry caterpillar.”

“He’s old enough to learn how to, as and when he wants,” Hakuba glances at Conan, who turns away, making a show out of ignoring them before sliding off the armchair and making for the door. “I was thinking of maybe teaching him how next week, when Hattori comes by and he can practice.”

“I see. Are we demonstrating?”

“If you are willing.”

“I don’t mind.” Kaito sighs through his nose. The side of his neck was uncomfortably wet and cold. “Think I’m gonna rest for a bit. Still gotta get groceries after.”

He’s carefully maneuvering himself up into a sitting position when Conan returns, and dumps an armful of fresh fruit, juice boxes, and a collection of snacks into his lap, along with a soft blanket.

“Wow, not that I’m not grateful for the concern, but what is with all the food?” Kaito sits up, rescuing a box of pocky from falling off his lap onto the floor, closing his eyes against the initial faintness the movement causes. “I can’t possibly eat all of this.”

“You will if you don’t want to faint again,” Conan points at the small pile. “Rest before you leave. No running out the door.”

“You’re bossy for your age,” Kaito grumbles, tearing the wrapper for the straw and sticking it into the juice box as Hakuba’s gaze sharpens from the other end of the sofa. 

“What is this about fainting, Kuroba?”

Conan, the little traitor, answers for him before he can get a word in.

“Kaito-nii san fainted in school during extra-curricular activities,” Conan says, returning to his perch on Hakuba’s armchair. “On Thursday.”

Kaito can see when Hakuba makes the connection between his feeding on Wednesday night, right after his heist on Monday, and his little incident on Thursday, and quickly tears into a banana just for something to do.

“Why wasn’t I notified?” Hakuba demands, turning onto Kuroba who immediately stuffs the fruit into his mouth.

“They notified me,” Conan says, pulling the heavy textbook back onto his lap. “And I notified you.”

“Sending me a text that says ‘Go easier on Kaito-nii san’ doesn’t count as notification, Conan.”

“Uh,” Kaito cuts in, flinching when Hakuba immediately glares at him. “It wasn’t as serious or as dramatic as it sounds like. Just a… couple of late nights playing video games and not enough sleep.”

“Shut up, Kuroba,” Hakuba says cheerfully, a terrifying fact when in their current context, before he turns back to the child vampire sitting across of him. “Conan, this is no laughing matter. I expect to be notified by phone immediately if something is the matter with Kuroba’s health. He is my secondary, and it is my responsibility to take care of him, especially when my feeding will stress his body. Do you understand, Conan? Do  _ not _ leave me out of the loop when it pertains to Kuroba’s health condition.”

“That’s a little harsh, Hakuba… “ Kaito immediately regrets opening his mouth when Hakuba rounds on him.

“And you,” his classmate jabs a finger at him. “Strenuous exercise is not recommended after a blood donation, much less a feed.  _ What were you thinking _ ?”

“Look, I’ve always been fine with it after a feed, so long as I watch my fluid intake. I  _ told _ you. It’s nothing serious. Besides, I told Conan not to tell you specifically because it was just the way I was handling myself and not you. Not everything has to do with you, you arrogant bastard.” 

The expected anger never comes, Hakuba only gazing at him steadily until he has to look away. “It is never my intention to hurt you.”

“It’s the late nights and the video games,” Kaito mutters mulishly. “Nothing to do with you at all.”

“Even then, I am partially to blame, at least.” Hakuba looks overly serious, eyes boring into Kaito. “I am sorry.”

“Yeah, no,” Kaito desperately wishes that he is currently elsewhere, made uneasy by how seriously Hakuba was taking all of this. True, he had fainted, but it was only because he had gotten light headed while looking up at the soccer ball the goalkeeper had sent going over his head, toppling over when his sense of balance suddenly went, and then the next thing he knew he was waking up in the infirmary. “I just need more sleep. You’re not responsible for my bedtime hours.”

The guilt on Hakuba’s face eats at him, and Kaito sucks noisily on his juice box so he wouldn’t have to look at him. He starts, when Hakuba reaches for him, only to shift the pile of food off his lap onto the tea table, unfolding the blanket and tucking it carefully around him with uncharacteristic gentleness. “I apologise, Kuroba. I will be more careful.”

Kaito mumbles something about exams and fluid intake, wiping the drying saliva from his neck with a corner of the blanket. The wound has scabbed over by now, aided by the healing properties of Hakuba’s saliva, though the edges of the puncture marks are still puffy and painful when Kaito brushes his fingers across them. 

“You’re staying for dinner,” Hakuba says decisively, with no room for argument, and then dramatically sweeps out of the room. 

“I don’t drink blood, and you just had dinner,” Kaito points out lamely to the vacated side of the sofa, and then turns to the child vampire who is calmly studying him. “He cooks?”

“It would have been terrible if you did not faint in school, but at a heist, instead,” Conan says evenly, hands pressed together before him in a pose he’s learned off of Hakuba. “Don’t you think so?”

“I’m careful,” Kaito grumbles, wriggling about for a comfortable position. “I wouldn’t. And I’m not Kid.”

“Whatever you say, Kid-sama,” Conan agrees easily, and the last thing Kaito sees is his sly smile before he drops off to sleep.

::

It turns out that Hakuba does cook. As in, actual human food and kitchen knife plus cookbook cooking. With an apron.

Kaito hovers near the kitchen door as Hakuba effortlessly slices and dices up vegetables for a soup. There’s something that smells like chicken in the oven, and there’s a bowl of washed potatoes by his elbow.

“I’m surprised that you keep food in your kitchen,” Kaito says eventually as Hakuba tips the sliced carrots into the bubbling pot. “I’m surprised that you can  _ cook _ .”

“Fiona taught me how to. It is only polite that I provide for her when she has done the same for me.”

“You’ve never cooked for me,” Kaito grumbles, slouching against the door frame and pulling a chocolate bar out of his pocket. Hakuba glances backward, stirring the pot of soup. “I feel… well, not offended. Missing out. Yes.”

He looks up when Hakuba confiscates his chocolate, protesting when the blonde vampire shuts the candy into the fridge. “I’m remedying that now. If you can bring yourself to stay in my presence voluntarily after a feeding, then I will happily cook for you. No spoiling your appetite before dinner.”

“I keep separate stomachs for food and dessert. Don’t be mean, I need to get my blood sugar back up.”

“You mean you’re hoping to give yourself diabetes.” Hakuba snorts. “Why don’t you go entertain yourself with Conan? Dinner will take at least another twenty five minutes, if nothing burns.”

Kaito watches Hakuba cook, the silence comfortable with just the sound of bubbling pots and sizzling food. Clearly Hakuba has expected him to have gone back to the living room, because his knife slips when Kaito next speaks again, Hakuba letting loose a rapid string of expletives in English.

“Wow, Hakuba,” Kaito whistles, raising an eyebrow. “I had no idea that you had that in you.”

“There are many things that you are not familiar with in regards to me,” Hakuba sucks in air between his teeth. “That was nearly my finger. Pardon me, what did you just say?”

“I said,” Kaito says, carefully not looking at Hakuba, instead off to the side down the empty corridor. “Is that the general impression that I give you?”

“Aside from you being annoying? Stop itching at your bandage, Kuroba.”

Kaito manages to pull his hand away with some difficulty and reluctance, jamming it into his pocket so he wouldn’t try to peel the bandage off next. “I’m wounded,” he sighs, more to himself than to Hakuba.

“What? Kuroba, you have to stop mumbling to yourself over there. I can’t hear you.” There’s a clatter as Hakuba rinses the dirty pans and ingredient bowls in the sink. “Speak louder.”

Kaito sighs again, a long exhale of air through his nose, and then slouches off back in search of Conan, whom he finds sitting in the middle of a haphazard pile of books on the floor, all of them evidently having been pulled out from the bottom shelf of Hakuba’s bookshelf.

“Hey, chibi.” Conan spares him a disinterested glance when he joins him on the floor, settling down cross-legged next to a pile of magazines. “Are you treasure hunting?”

“Shinichi-nii san wants me to look for an old article for him,” comes the absent reply, the kid riffling quickly through a book before setting it aside. “Hakuba-nii san is busy right now.”

Kaito spots Hakuba’s phone lying buried under a stack, and retrieves it. “You shouldn’t snoop into Hakuba’s phone, Conan. That’s a violation of personal privacy.”

“Like what you are doing now, you mean?” Conan beams at him, and Kaito carefully locks the phone again, setting it aside. Damn perceptive kid. “I won’t tell!”

“No, I’m not.” 

“Liar.” The kid’s grin is startlingly bright, and Kaito finds himself reluctantly returning it, a wave of affection for the boy sweeping through him. Conan is often distant, spacey and cold until he gets his teeth into something spine-chillingly morbid and gruesome (exhibit a: a murder), and then he is all chirpy bright and happy. He’s a little genius, no doubt, and as annoying as he can be sometimes, standoffish and sarcastic (he doesn’t realise that children can learn sarcasm at Conan’s age, but then again he could have just been a special case), Kaito has a giant soft spot for him.

“Tidy up your mess when you’re done.” He pats Conan on the head, slowly getting to his feet to make for the sofa, wrapping the blanket on it around his shoulders.

“Okay,” Conan agrees.

He does, but it is out of the order that Hakuba had originally shelved them in, so Kaito takes it upon himself to reshelf them, the little twerp running off to send an email to his brother with the old, cut-out article that Conan’s found slipped between the pages of a book. Some of the books are dusty, and he gives them a wipe before shelving them again.

When there is nothing else for him to do, he presses the heels of his hands to his eyes, sighing loudly to the empty room. “It’s just a job,” he says aloud. “Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 超想睡的  
> 白马君虽无恶意但神经似乎有点大条（人际关系不好啊）  
> 黑羽君状自己怎么会这么在意，而柯南则是隔岸观火（当中比较善解人意但选择不理的小孩子）  
> 需要家长管理的小朋友们～


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Hattori.

Kaito is sprawled out across the sofa, practising his sleight of hand when someone taps the top of his head lightly. 

“Hey, Kuroba.” Hattori peers over the backrest. “We’re heading out. Wanna tag along?”

“We?” Kaito repeats, just as Conan peers around the armrest at him. “Where to?”

“Beika, for food. It’s mostly an excuse to stop Conan from turning into a bookworm.” Hattori shrugged, looking down at his young charge. “Doing more age appropriate activities, for one.”

That earns him a glare from Conan, before the child tugs on Kaito’s sleeve, jangling a coin purse in his face. “Come with us. I’m paying.”

He’s pulling the little pout that he usually reserves for people who are not Kaito, blue eyes bright and eager behind his spectacles. Kaito blinks, then vanishes the deck of cards he’s been practising with up his sleeves with a snap of his fingers. “Who am I to disobey our little prince?”

Conan narrows his eyes slightly when he holds his hand to his lips briefly, then snatches his hand back to wipe his fingers on Hattori’s jacket. “Incorrigible.”

“Did you learn that from Hakuba? Kids shouldn’t use words that they don’t know.” Kaito gets up from the sofa to retrieve his jacket, phone and wallet. “Also, no one in their right mind is going to let a kid pay for their outing.”

“I wanna.” The kid’s childish act is in full force today.

“Right, okay, is everybody ready to leave?” Hattori steps in before the both of them can start a childish argument with each other. “Conan, here, put your purse into your bag. Clever boy.”

“Don’t insult my intelligence.”

“Okay, okay… “

They make their way slowly to the train station, Kaito trailing just a step behind them, watching as Hattori engaged Conan in small talk, holding hands, the teenager stooping just slightly to accommodate Conan. It’s sweet how Conan plays the wide-eyed, innocent child whenever he is in Hattori’s presence, voice pitched upwards as he asks Hattori a barrage of questions. Kaito doesn’t get the whole sullen, mature act that he often gets from Conan, but he supposes that children like to play certain roles with certain people, vampire children included. That said, the boy has likely learned it from Hakuba, who never has a good word for him.

He had first met Hattori back in February, when he had been over in Hakuba’s house for a feeding and a school project. The brown skinned boy was Conan’s primary, as he came to find out when he had accidentally walked in on Conan’s feeding, the child drinking from Hattori’s wrist as the other chided him about not feeding so lazily before he developed a bad habit.

The second thing that he finds out is that Hattori Heiji is also a detective, just like Hakuba and Conan’s brother, and Conan himself, although Conan is just an apprentice due to his age.

(The little tyke does have the I-am-now-suspecting-you look and accusation pose down pat, no thanks to both detectives’ influence, and Kaito supposes that can be congratulatory in itself. It’s funny, if nothing else.)

Ever since that particularly interesting tidbit had come to light, Kaito had taken care to avoid Hattori as much as possible. It isn’t a major concern, seeing as even Hakuba and Conan have difficulty in proving his identity as an international jewel thief despite them spending a lot of their time together. Still, Kaito prefers to be careful, and hence the avoiding.

“Have you had lunch yet, Kuroba?”

They’re on the train to Beika, Conan sitting docilely on Hattori’s lap. It’s impressive how well Hattori has him behaving. Before he can think twice, while Conan is still distracted by the passing scenery over Hattori’s shoulder, Kaito discreetly snaps a photo and stows it away.

“No, not yet. You?”

“Nope. How do you feel about okonomiyaki?” Hattori doesn’t react to Kaito sneaking a photo of Conan. His protective tendencies towards Conan runs on a different line from Hakuba’s, after all. “Granted, it ain’t as good as it is in Osaka, but how badly can you screw up okonomiyaki? That’s like screwing up miso soup.”

“Language,” Kaito says, almost on reflex. “I like okonomiyaki. Haven’t had it in ages. These days, there is more salad in my fridge than meat.”

“What, Hakuba’s put you on a diet?” Hattori blinks at him. “That’s… unsurprising, actually, but since Conan doesn’t have a specific diet for me, I didn’t think that he would have set one for you.”

“Most of it is expensive leaf and grain nonsense. I put my foot down when he wanted to cut my sugar intake.” Kaito snorted. “I’m not complaining, since he is the one paying for the food and my blood.  It  _ is _ supposed to be healthier for me, anyway. It’s not a strict diet, so I still get to indulge in some junk food. I don’t think we would have gotten along if he was going to police everything that I’m going to put in my mouth.”

“Man, sounds tough.” Hattori is either simply stoic enough to ignore his meaningful eyebrow waggle, or the innuendo has simply gone right on over his head. “I really wouldn’t want to quit rice and ramen for quinoa and millets. I would survive, but that takes the fun out of life. Life is all about eating, especially when you’re from Osaka.”

“Don’t I know it,” Kaito groans. “Hakuba says that he’s used to it from England, so, whatever. I’m just going to stuff myself with food today.”

“ _ Soy milk, _ ” Hattori says, and shudders dramatically.

“Don’t diss soy, it keeps me looking pretty. Sides, he likes it. It’s bad enough that he’s gotta stay in a place he never grew up in for a couple of years. Do vampires ever get homesick?” Kaito winks at a girl sitting across who has been watching them curiously for some time, and grins when she blushes, ducking her head. “Isn’t Ekoda a long way from Osaka?”

“Hm, yeah, it doesn’t sound very practical, does it? But Kudo’s an old family friend, so I don’t mind. All of my travel expenses are paid for by his family, and Conan doesn’t need much from me, since he is young and all, so we’re still good for now. Right, Conan?”

Conan doesn’t duck the hand tousling his hair, nodding with a sound of agreement. Hattori smooths the stray strands of hair back into place, then leans back against his seat thoughtfully. “I mean, we will probably have to work something out when he starts hitting puberty, but we’ll leave it for now. I still gotta bring him to Osaka one day. There’s nothing like eating in Osaka to really learn about what food’s all about.”

“Does Hakuba object to you raising Conan up on junk food?” Kaito grins. “I was wondering who started him on human food, seeing as Hakuba seldom touches it. Good job, too.”

“You’re in  _ Japan _ , you gotta eat.” Hattori grimaces, likely imagining a purely liquid diet. “We’ll drag him out the next time with us. Or better still - we leave the itinerary with Conan, and Conan can drag him out to eat.”

“You have the best ideas, Hattori.”

“Don’t I just?”

::

Conan is making a mess out of the batter, sloshing it out of the bowl as he mixes it just a little too enthusiastically. He insists on cooking his own okonomiyaki, and since he looks like he is having the time of his life, they let him have at it.

“You’re a practising magician, aren’t you? Kuroba?” Hattori leans against the table, keeping a careful eye on how Conan is greasing the griddle. He’s splashing a little too much oil onto the hotplate, so Kaito mops it up with the provided paper towels.

“I  _ am  _ a magician,” Kaito corrects. “I just haven’t been on the stage officially yet. Why? Do you like magic, Hattori? Or are you just interested in dissembling all of it like Conan?”

“Ah, it’s just - no offense, sorry about that. I’m not trying to insult your… hobby or something.”

“You mean my profession.”

“Uhm… but your profession is being a… student?”

Kaito cannot help the slight tinge of frost that seeps into his voice, but then slumps backwards into his seat, sighing gustily and pushing the tension in his shoulders out with the air. “It isn’t much to you detective types, I know. Not the most stable of professions, or the most well paying, working in - what was it? Trashy, insubstantial entertainment that relies on pulling one over the audience.”

“Did something happen?” Hattori has a slightly cautious look to his face, and even Conan turns to look at him. Kaito reaches over to rescue the batter before Conan gets a little too heavy handed with it and creates a two inch pancake on the griddle. “I mean, that’s a little harsh, ain’t it? I had the impression that you loved magic from Conan.”

It is a tense few seconds before Kaito can push himself to speak, and even then, his jaw aches. “Couple of sleepless nights, I guess. Sleep deprivation does me in.” Kaito spreads the batter so that it can cook a little easier with the  skillet , and pretends not to see Conan studying him with ill-concealed suspicion. “I did. I do. Love magic, I mean. Enough to want to pursue it as a profession, but it’s sometimes really rough to keep going. Not that I want to give it up, but it’s just tough at times.”

“I do know what you mean.” Hattori passes the container of nori flakes over to Conan, effectively distracting him from his continuous staring. “There are times when I wonder about what I am doing, or where I’m going with something that I really love. Or whether if all the work I am putting into it amounts to anything, but I suppose that if I can learn to be forgiving with myself and ease up just a little, it doesn’t really matter if I don’t end up where I thought I should. Like being a professional in kendo. Or what people are going to say about me. Ultimately, people will always talk. You just gotta know when to be deaf to them.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Kaito mutters at length, staring unseeingly at the condiments lined up at the side.

“Just say that I’m right, cause I am.” Hattori leans forwards onto his arms against the table. “Would you mind showing me a couple of tricks or two? Conan has high praises for you.”

“I said he was passable,” Conan mutters.

“Passable, impressive - same thing from you when you spend an hour trying to recreate something Kuroba did. This kid only affords a passing eyeroll for the others, so the fact that he talks about you is impressive in itself.”

“I… see,” Kaito says slowly, as Conan attempts to flip the cooking pancake clumsily. It doesn’t look that appetizing, half uncooked and soggy around the edges, breaking apart in the middle when Conan lifts it up from the grill. “I don’t mind.”

He has his deck of card up his sleeves, so while Conan mucks around with their food, he shows Hattori a few simple sleight of hand tricks that he usually does for practice. Conan glances over for a little bit, but eventually ignores him when he realises that they’re tricks that he’s seen before.

Hattori gives a low whistle of appreciation, suitably impressed. “I can’t imagine being able to do that. Okay, I lied. I know how you’re doing it, but I just can’t tell when, and just when I think I do, you pull a twist on me.”

“You think?” Kaito shoots the cards from one hand into another, and vanishes the deck.

“I would love to see more,” Hattori says honestly, and Kaito feels himself relaxing into a faint smile. “Do you only specialise in card tricks?”

“No, although I am fond of them. You can carry a deck of cards everywhere with you, but not the kind of equipment I prefer for the more dramatic kind of setup that I prefer. There is nothing like a performance that leaves the audience stunned and questioning if physics has broke temporarily, in my opinion. But old fashioned is also good.” His smile turns fond when he makes a rubik's cube appear in his hand, vanishing it again.

“That’s amazing. Do you hold shows?”

“When I’m free. Studies and exams take the fun out of everything.”

“Don’t mind if I invite myself to one of your shows some day? Conan, stop spanking the okonomiyaki. It won’t be fluffy if you do.”

The topic changes naturally into one of Kaito’s favourite - arguing about food. He’s delighted to find out that Hattori is just about as passionate as he is on the subject, and gladly engages in a brief discussion about whether the addition of milk really makes the batter fluffier, and on which version of okonomiyaki is better. Hattori insists that the ingredients of the okonomiyaki itself is what makes it okonomiyaki, basic ingredients available to most households across Japan, whereas Kaito is of the opinion that it is the batter and the method of cooking that makes the dish an okonomiyaki. Sitting between them, Conan carefully dissects the ugly pancake he’s made and drowns it in condiments and aonori before placing a slice of each before his guardians. It tastes as bad as it looks, but Kaito compliments him on his cooking skills regardless, the doughy pancake a touch too salty from the condiments.

“That’s admirable, you wanting to be a detective after your dad. My - well.” Kaito says, trailing out of the restaurant with them. “Wanna go for ice cream next?”

“He wasn’t always a superintendent, and I think watching him slug through various promotions helped shape my perspective into what being a detective is about. I’m pretty good, as a high school student, but at the same time he’s taught me that there is more to being a detective than just cracking the case and stopping the crime in the shortest time possible.” Hattori rubs at his nose. “I still gotta long way to go. Not that I’m going to tell him, of course. He doesn’t approve of my choice of career.”

“I think you should.” Kaito says thoughtfully. “Even if he doesn’t outwardly approve, I think he will be proud of you. Danger kind of comes with the profession, so maybe that’s why he doesn’t want you to follow in his footsteps. I don’t think any parent likes their child actively involved in so much danger.”

“Well, I can’t bloody well let a case sit unsolved when I can read the clues, can I? If I can do something about solving a murder and returning a modicum of justice to the victims, I bloody well will do it.”

“Hakuba-nii san says Hattori-nii san is too impulsive,” pipes Conan from between them, who has been mostly silent for the trip. “I want ice cream.”

“Yeah? Hakuba doesn’t know what he’s on about. Don’t listen to him, Conan. Unless he’s telling you to stay away from crime scenes, then you listen to him.”

They go for ice creams, Kaito getting a raspberry sorbet for himself, sweet cream for Conan, and Hattori opting for red bean. Conan insists on paying, so Kaito takes his purse from him, paying with his own coin when Conan is distracted by his melting ice cream, pulling a quick sleight of hand to make it look like he’s taking money from the kid’s purse.

“Thanks for the treat, Conan,” he grins when he hands the purse back to him, Hattori helping him keep it in his bag, the teenager giving him a knowing look when he takes the purse from him.

“The weight’s still the same,” Hattori whispers when Conan is looking the other way. “Kid’s gonna find out.”

“Well,” Kaito hums. “I don’t care.”

They take Conan shopping, spending a ridiculous amount of time in a bookstore before heading into a toy store at Kaito’s insistence.

“Do you wanna grow your own crystal, Conan?” Hattori shakes a box at the child to a shake of his head. “How about… a microscope?”

“Shinichi-nii gave me a second-hand compound microscope for my birthday.”

“Figures,” Hattori mutters, shelving the box again. “Okay, how about a good old puzzle? Everyone likes puzzles.”

“Shinichi’s a detective too, isn’t he?” Kaito wanders back over with a stuffed alpaca under his arm. “He any good as you are?”

“Shinichi-nii’s amazing,” Conan says vehemently, eyes daring him to have a differing opinion about his brother. “He’s the  _ best _ .”

“Brother complex,” Hattori whispers, Kaito lip reading the words off of him. “Who’s that for?”

“Me, of course. I get lonely in bed.” Kaito whispers back, winking for effect. To Conan, he grins. “Okay, yes. But first, I’ll have to meet him to know.”

“He’s the best,” Conan repeats firmly, which is when somebody screams, and Kaito has to run after the two detectives after leaving his stuffed animal at the cashier with a hurried apology.

Of course it turns out to be a murder. Kaito only wishes it was someone screaming because of an unexpected proposal or something. Or some giant mutant spider. Anything but murder, dear god.

As it is, he’s nearly runs right into the crime scene, Hattori and Conan already bending over the body on the ground, Hattori searching for a pulse from the victim, before shaking his head.

“I’ll call the police,” Kaito offers, phone already out, Conan darting away in search of evidence.

After that, there isn’t much to do but to wait, keeping an eye on the key suspects that Hattori has singled out, while the two detectives work the crime scene and do their thing, mostly poking at the corpse and other bits of seemingly unrelated things (to his untrained eye).

The victim’s a young man, gangly with pockmarked skin and who looks like the type that thrives better at 3AM than 3PM. The stillness of the corpse is unsettling, and Kaito tries his best not to look at the man’s open, unseeing eyes, gaze filmed over by death. Someone should cover him up, he feels, but he also doesn’t want to disturb the crime scene, except that the expression that the victim is wearing is looking more gnarled and sinister by the minute, and Kaito wants away from the gruesome evidence of careless violence. The knowledge that someone has put the body there on purpose entirely by choice, and that the same someone is probably standing close to them sends his skin crawling all over.

It’s the best poker face anyone could ever wear, he thinks darkly. To knowingly masquerade as an innocent bystander when beneath that they are someone who doesn’t value another human life.

The police arrives quickly, thankfully, and Kaito leaves it to them, excusing himself for a bench a good distance from the scene. Hattori and Conan have already figured out the method, so there isn’t much left to go. He clasps his hands before him, focusing on deep breathing and pushing the image of the dead body out of his mind. It isn’t his first encounter with dead bodies, what with him often visiting Hakuba and Conan. The former is careful to keep his case files away from him, but Conan himself has no issues whatsoever with using the kitchen table so that he can better look at the photos.

(They’re both vampires, so it makes sense that Conan doesn’t care, but  _ still _ .)

And, alright, he is probably still unbalanced by the consecutive couple of nights that he’s been dreaming of his father’s death in hi-def detail, but  _ nothing _ justifies murder. He thinks Hattori or Hakuba will be able to walk him through the thought processes of a murderer that brought them to the grand finale a la dead body in public in fine detail, but murder is just something that he absolutely refuses to understand.

( _ What’s it like, dwelling in the heads of murderers most of the time? _ It’s a question that Kaito longs to ask Hakuba about, but has never been able to bring himself to. He doesn’t want to understand.

He doesn’t want to forgive them.)

“It's impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be, huh” Kaito mutters to himself, then starts violently when someone touches his shoulder.

“You okay there, Kuroba?” Hattori pulls his hand back, then gestures vaguely to his own face. “You’re looking a bit green.”

“What? Yeah. Fine.” Kaito clenches his hands into fists, looking past them to the flashing police cars and the slowly dispersing crowd. “You caught the murderer?”

“Arrested and handed over to the police.” Hattori jabs over his shoulder. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s your job to put criminals in their place,” Kaito says, even as the irony of the statement hits him. “So don’t apologize for it. Good job. Chibi here nail anyone with anything?”

“Just a soda can,” Hattori laughs. Kaito waits for the kid to begin chattering about the murderer’s motives and how the murder was committed, but it never comes. “This is probably a bad timing, but do you wanna eat anything?”

His stomach is still churning, but they’ve only had lunch and he will probably be hungry again in a few hours’ time. “I’ll probably get something to take home for dinner.”

“Conan?”

“Nnnn.” The boy latches onto Hattori’s leg, and buries his face into the fabric.

“Home it is, then.”

Kaito is completely surprised when an officer runs up to them with a giant paper bag, Hattori thanking him and then passing it to him, the stuffed alpaca he’s been planning to buy but didn’t nestling inside the bag. The detective wouldn’t take it back no matter what Kaito said, and didn’t let him pay him for it.

“Whatever would I do with it?” Hattori raises an eyebrow, settling the matter with that. “I’m a dude who doesn’t need stuffed animals.”

“You  _ bastard _ ,” Kaito said feelingly, still in wonder about how Hattori pulled that one over him with the kind gesture.

“Language,” chirps Conan.

Conan falls asleep on the train ride back to Ekoda, and Hattori carries him on his back, Kaito stealing pictures of them both and then promising to send some to Hattori’s phone. The walk back home is mostly silent, but after the considerable day that they’ve just had, Kaito is glad that there is no pressure to talk.

“You go on ahead, Kuroba. I’ll be fine taking him home by myself.”

“Are you sure?” Kaito is careful to speak softly, so that he doesn’t wake Conan who is snoozing quietly on Hattori’s shoulder. Regardless of his enthusiasm for crime solving and case cracking, it probably is a tiring day for a child. “I really don’t mind.”

“No offence, but you really don’t look too good, and I do plan on crashing one of your shows some day, so you will have to be in top performance in order to evade my criticizing your tricks.”

“Oh? So do I have to be prepared for a letter written into the magazine some time soon? ‘Teenager scams children in park for a hobby’. Imagine that.”

It draws a startled laugh out of Hattori, and Kaito grins despite himself. “I wouldn’t go so far.”

“Yeah? I don’t mind. It’s nice to be honourably mentioned. Thanks for Cookie, by the way.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“I’ll be heading home, then. It’s this way, so I’ll leave Conan to you. I’m still gonna pay you back some day.”

“I’d love to see you try,” Hattori scoffs, then nods at him in lieu of waving goodbye. “See you some other day, Kuroba. Today’s been great.”

“No murder next time?” Kuroba calls after the pair.

“No guarantees!”

::

It isn’t until they are five minutes from home before Conan gives up the act, and lifts his head from Hattori’s shoulder. “So? What do you think?”

“Definitely Kid,” Hattori answers decisively, changing his grip on Conan. “So this is the guy Hakuba’s been obsessing over?”

Conan nods, and Hattori tuts, shaking his head.

“Poor guy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it wasn't clear, Kuroba's decided to name his plush toy Cookie. Don't knock it, I have a friend with an entire room dedicated to plush toys, and he names every single one of them.
> 
> 虽然服部总是被篇村人A的角色，他绝对不会比柯南逊色（好吧... 逊一点点）  
> 只有基德本人觉得自己蒙骗了众人哈哈  
> 狼群（侦探）中的小绵羊


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely forgot I had this. I'm not sure if this was due a rewrite or no, but since I can't find it's twin in my drive I'll considered it finished.
> 
> Unbetaed
> 
> Featuring helicopter mum friend Hakuba maybe.

His bed’s swaying.

The movement only half registers as the fragments of a dream, and Hakuba attempts to roll over to get to the cooler side of the pillow once he has dismissed it. Rolling over is oddly difficult to accomplish, as though his bed’s gone narrower through the night, his arms and legs trapped in some kind of constricting material, and he is just about to give up on it and drop back off to sleep when he hears the wheeze of a poorly stifled giggle from somewhere above him.

“Don’t -  _ fuck _ !” Stars burst into existence behind his eyes as his head collides into another’s, Hakuba scrambling to sit up. He groans in pain, and gropes a hand blindly out towards the intruder, the other feeling around for some kind of weapon to - ah, yes, it’s a little light, but it would have to do -

He’s thrown towards the side of the moving vehicle as it swerves to the side in a sharp turn, the muted sound of screeching tires coming in through the glass. Hakuba wheezes as he hits his cheekbone hard against the car door, the makeshift weapon wrenched out of his hand by someone else.

“I  _ told  _ you to buckle him in!” Hattori’s voice cuts loudly through his internal confusion, the sound of his voice extremely welcome in this circumstance. Not so much about the implication, however, especially when it appears that he is currently in a  _ moving vehicle _ . “My freaking  _ head _ .”

“He would have woken up! What’s the fun in that?” The streetlights illuminate the person in the driver’s seat momentarily, and Hakuba feels himself go tense at the glimpse of the familiar smirk of the phantom thief. It’s mostly instinct, by now. “Youth’s the best age for reckless fun.”

“If Hakuba-nii san flies out through the windshield… “ Something shifts and nestles closer into his side, and Hakuba immediately puts a protective arm around Conan’s small form, gathering up the blankets around him. “I’ll put you in prison.”

“Yeah, yeah. Trust  _ me _ . Somebody please hold onto Hakuba before he blows.” 

“ _ KID _ ,” Hakuba growls, Conan yawning and putting his arms around him in a loose hug.

“Huh? This again?” Kuroba glances back at them through the rearview mirror, indigo eyes oddly bright in the moonlight, and shucks the bottle of water that Hakuba had blindly grabbed for into Hattori’s lap. “Sometimes, I wonder who’s the bigger fan out of the two of us.”

“ _ What have you done? _ ”

Hattori grabs for his hands before he could claw Kuroba out of the driver’s seat, Kuroba whistling merrily as he takes another tight curve. He even has the gall to grin at him while Hattori pins him back against the cushions of the car. “Calm down. I have a driver’s license.”

“Forged, I bet.” Hakuba decides immediately. “Let go, you  _ monkey _ .”

“ _ What did you say? _ ” Hattori’s fingers tighten around his wrists, and Hakuba hisses, sharp incisors pushing past his lips. In the front, Kuroba sighs, and pulls the car into a stop.

“Look, it’s just a pleasant night trip out.” Kuroba twists around in his seat, a pained expression on his face. “Can we stop fighting for a day to enjoy ourselves?”

“I want to go  _ home _ . Leave me out of your... tricks.”

“No tricks, I swear. We’re just going on a nice trip to the pool. The car’s mine, don’t worry. And I really do have a driver’s license. I thought it would be a pleasant surprise.” Kuroba sounds honest, but Hakuba trusts him only as far as he can throw him. “Please? I’m asking permission now.”

“I’m supervising,” Hattori adds, which doesn’t do a thing to reassure Hakuba at all. It’s nighttime, and they all have school tomorrow. Not to mention that he’s pretty sure Kuroba is lying through his teeth about having a driver’s license, and what kind of pool is open at night? None. The answer is none. They’re trying to break into a pool.

“We’ll drown.”

“No, we won’t. I’ve brought along floats for everyone. Please, Hakuba? I’ve gone to the trouble of sneaking everyone out, and Conan’s really looking forward to it.”

“I say we should just leave him behind, like I suggested since the beginning. The people who want to sleep can go home, and the people who want to swim will just go on ahead.” Hattori sits back crossly, tapping his foot.

“That’s just not nice,” Kuroba points out. “It’s not like they can go out into the sun for a long swim whenever they want to. Sides, it’s good to be irresponsible for once in your life. It will be good for your health in the long term.”

“You’ve been irresponsible for your entire life, Kuroba. Turn us back.”

“Actually, I’m being the responsible one this time for a change. What will it hurt? Do you have some kind of allergy to water, or just to fun in general? We’re not hurting anyone here.” 

“Just throw him out of the car.”

“I don’t want to go if Hakuba-nii san isn’t going… “ interjects Conan miserably into the ramping disagreement. The car goes quiet immediately, each looking at the other in light of Conan’s unhappiness. It isn’t often that Conan chooses to be selfish and childish in an age appropriate manner, and while Hakuba is happy that he still is the child that he should be, the boy has a really bad sense of timing.

A sharp elbow in his ribs has him gasping for air. “You’re going to make him cry,” Hattori hissed quietly. “Fix it.”

“I’m not.” Conan looks up balefully, blue eyes oddly luminous in the dark interior of the car. “Kaito - “

“Yeah, yeah.” The car rolls away from the curb smoothly, making a neat little turn back to the way they came. Kuroba’s expression is unreadable in the dim light. “Forget it. I’m sorry I came up with the idea. We’ll just hit the inflatable pool next time, Conan.”

“Just like that? Kuroba!!” 

“I can’t help it if Hakuba’s so straight-laced, can I? It won’t be any fun if he refuses to have any, so we might well spare ourselves the misery and try to get a good night’s sleep.” A hint of irritation scrapes in Kuroba’s voice. Still, when he speaks again, his voice is much gentler. “I’m sure Conan-kun’s tired, too. He has school tomorrow.”

“Everyone, please. Stop the car.” Hakuba leans forwards to touch Kuroba’s shoulder. “Stop the car. I need a moment to think.”

Kuroba pulls them over once more, and Hakuba rakes a hand through his hair at the terse silence in the car. It’s a lot to take in, especially the bit about them having snuck him out of his house into a car without waking him in the process, and there is the whole thing about swimming. Unsupervised. 

“You’re not lying about your having a driver’s license?”

“Of course not. Would I drive with Conan-kun in the car without one?” Kuroba wriggles about in his seat until he is able to retrieve his wallet, which he tosses onto Hakuba’s lap. “Verify it for yourself.”

Kuroba’s wallet is full of old receipts and name cards. Hakuba retrieves his driver’s license from behind cut-out coupons to a supermarket, and then hands it all back to him. “Fine.”

“Fine?”

“Fine, let’s go to the pool.” Hakuba tugs the blankets higher up to his chin, shifting until he finds a comfortable position to sleep in. “Wake me up when we get there.”

“You’re  _ really _ letting us to go the pool?” Kuroba twists around in his seat to peer at him suspiciously. “Just so you know, this isn’t a dream.”

“I know.”

“And we’ll be  _ breaking into a pool _ .”

“Yes, I know, so just shut up and drive us all there before I change my mind.” Hakuba scowls at Kuroba, and closes his eyes resolutely when his secondary’s face splits into a wide, happy grin. “I can’t walk back home on my own if I’m there, can I?”

“Well, you’ve got a very good point.” The car begins moving again, and Hakuba does his best to relax, hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep before they arrive. “So you do have a sense of adventure after all.”

“If we’re all arrested, it’s on you.”

Kuroba laughs quietly, Conan’s small hand finding his beneath the blanket and holding on. “I won’t get us arrested,” he promises.

::

It’s quite an anti-climatic business, breaking in. But then again, there isn’t as much security in a public swimming pool as there is in a museum, and Hakuba is more used to the latter. He’s not quite certain of what it says about him being keyed up for excitement, but he starts all the same when a hand closes around his shoulder.

“Alright there?” Kuroba asks, ready to head back over the wall once more from the looks of it.

“If you intend to crack a joke about me being in shock from having my first illegal break-in, I will hit you,” Hakuba warns, stepping away from the wall as Kuroba nimbly hops back up the wall. His secondary has an athletic prowess that puts his own to shame, even though Hakuba isn’t shabby himself, but it does make him just the slightest bit jealous (and ever so slightly more convinced of his secret identity). Kuroba’s answering grin is shit-eating before he disappears over to the other side of the wall, and Hakuba sighs, turning to follow Hattori as he shepherds Conan towards the side of the pool.

There’s a cool breeze around them, and Hakuba squirms his toes against the dry tiles, dislodging a blade of grass that has been stuck to the sole of his foot on his way in, staring dubiously at the pool. Liquid black water laps over the edges, surface rippling gently from the light wind, and in a wild flight of fancy, Hakuba imagines that he can fall in through to another dimension beyond here, and never surface again.

“Is it really safe? Majority of swimmers who drown in pools occur after it’s closing hours. I can hardly see anything in this light… or the lack thereof.” 

Hattori doesn’t look up, helping Conan into a swimming cap, tucking stray bits of black hair underneath the edges. “Even if you don’t trust Kuroba, you can trust me. We’ve thought it through, alright? Everything’s accounted for.” In a lower, slightly grumbling tone, he continues: “I know you don’t agree with him and think that he’s frivolous, but the guy’s meticulous about his work. Surely his skill towards magic speaks something about his character if he were as flippant as you think he were.”

Unable to come up with a retort immediately, his thoughts as sluggish as the blood that runs through his veins, Hakuba settles for glaring daggers at Conan’s primary before striding over to a reclining deck chair and making to lie down on it.

“Hakuba-nii san isn’t swimming?” Conan stands in front of him, looking up at him inquisitively. He looks oddly bare when he isn’t wearing his spectacles, Hakuba thinks. More grown up, especially under the silvery moonlight.

“Hakuba-nii san is waiting for Kuroba to hopefully return with his swimming gear,” Hakuba tells him, just as a dark figure drops back over into the vicinity, Kuroba whistling merrily as he joins their little group.

“This feels so illegal,” Hattori grins at him as Kuroba tosses everyone their swim goggles, slinging Hakuba his pair of swimming trunks into the vampire’s face. “Thanks, Kuroba.”

“This  _ is  _ illegal,” Kuroba reminds him casually, toeing off his socks and sneakers. “I’m going to set up. Don’t forget your warm-ups and your shower.”

Conan chirps his agreement, then follows Hattori’s enthusiastic lead in warm-up exercises. Kuroba seems to be carrying some sort of net over his shoulder, snapping something that glows brightly in the dark as he goes. Glow-sticks, Hakuba realises eventually, Kuroba stripping down to his shorts by the side before tossing the net in and diving into the waters after it, the net casting a strong blue glow into the waters, lighting up the pool from within.

“Pretty,” Hattori whistles appreciatively from behind him. “You gonna swim or what, Hakuba?”

Before he can reply, Conan is already doing so for him. “Hakuba-nii san is appreciating the view,” says Conan serenely, bending down to touch his toes and then doing a couple of jumping jacks and running on the spot. “He always is.”

“What view?” asks Hattori in bewilderment, and Hakuba yanks his shirt angrily over his head so that he doesn’t have to answer.

By the time they are done, Kuroba has finished setting up, and the pool is glowing a beautiful, vibrant blue. Kuroba looks proud, walking the perimeters of it with his clothes slung over a shoulder, and grins at Conan when the boy patters inquisitively over to the edge, sloshing a foot through the water.

“Now, not till you’ve had your shower,” his secondary chastises, picking Conan up easily and settling him against the side of his hip. “And not without Hattori.”

“Do I get a float?” Conan demands, bracing himself with a hand against Kuroba. Not for the first time, Hakuba can easily see them as brothers, their similarities striking when they are so close to each other.

“Of course. Would I ever leave you out of anything?” Kuroba sets Conan down near the shower area, Hattori jogging over to assist as Kuroba shrugs on his windbreaker. 

“So why at night? Why not in the day?” Hakuba asks quietly as Kuroba sits down to survey his handiwork, drawing his legs up to sit cross-legged on the deck chair. “Other than your inherent need to break as many laws as possible within the span of your life.”

“Don’t be annoying, Hakuba.” Kuroba clicks his tongue loudly against the roof of his mouth. His hair has flattened somewhat from his brief swim in the water, and Kuroba slicks it back with one hand, flicking water from his fingertips at him. “Sunblock isn’t reliable enough for swimming in the full light of day. There isn’t a proper time frame for its effectiveness when you are in contact with water and sweating, and you lot burn like baby potatoes.”

“...baby potatoes.”

“I had a school project once, and the sun roasted my potato after a while. Don’t give me that look. You weren’t with us when we took Conan to the wading pond in the park. We slathered the entire bottle on him, but his legs were still burned by the time he waded out.” Kuroba gives somebody behind him a wave and a thumbs up, presumably Hattori. “No amount of fun is worth a burn like that. You lot are so fragile.”

“Technically speaking, you’re the race that succumbs to skin cancer when you are exposed to the sun for too long.”

“Oh, now you’re pissed about your biology?” An upward quirk of Kuroba’s lips, almost taunting, and Hakuba pictures sinking his teeth into him, the boy first going tense, then pliant in his arms, the arrogant, challenging look finally leaving Kuroba’s eyes because -

Because nothing, Hakuba tells himself firmly, shaking his head to scatter the remnants of a common night dream into the warm night air. He’s better than that, although it is a rather irresistible fantasy (albeit extremely shameful in itself if anyone else were to know of it).

“You’re a funny bunch,” Kuroba is still saying, blissfully unaware of Hakuba’s momentary lapse. “Here. Now go on and swim.”

Hakuba’s hand closes automatically around the inflatable ring that Kuroba passes him, and he hisses when Kuroba gives him a stinging slap on the thigh. “Stop it.”

“Not only do you burn easily, you bruise easily,” Kuroba laughs, surprisingly amused by his own red handprint on Hakuba’s skin. “Ah! Murder!”

He topples sideways in laughter, Hattori and Conan’s attention immediately drawn by his cry, and Hakuba hits him with the inflatable ring before stalking over to the pool. A thought occurs to him suddenly, and he pauses on the edge, water lapping gently over his toes.

“You do know that there are indoor pools, don’t you?” he calls.

A pause. “Is that supposed to be fun?” Kuroba calls back, then waves lazily at him from where he is lying sideways on the chair, and gives him a thumbs up. Rolling his eyes, Hakuba tosses the ring to Hattori, and jumps in.

The cold is a punch to his gut. Shocking, but bearable. He strikes out into a breaststroke, and surfaces next to Hattori, pushing wet hair out of his eyes.

“It isn’t fair,” says Conan, petulantly, because he knows he can get away with it. “You don’t have to wear a swimming cap.”

“Chlorine bleaches hair, ya know? It’d be a pity if your hair were to go all stiff and messy.” Hattori slips the inflatable ring over Conan, and bobs him up and down in the water gleefully. “It also helps with the drag in the water.”

“Bleaching only occurs if I am a regular swimmer, which I am not. And I’m using a float. My head is perpetually above the water.”

Hattori grabs a hold of Conan’s wrists gently before he can get the swim cap off. “But it makes Kuroba happy, doesn’t it? And it helps keep your hair neat.”

Undeterred by Conan’s mistrusting stare, the boy eventually capitulates, and lets his hands drop. Instead, he turns to Hakuba. “Wanna swim.”

“You’re swimming,” Hakuba tells him fondly, but takes his hands so that he can tug him around the pool while Conan kicks at the water with his legs. “This is rather pleasant, isn’t it?”

The water glows blue around them, casting soft shadows onto Conan’s face, the boy currently frowning with all the focus he is putting into scissoring his legs in the water. It’s peaceful, and slowly, Hakuba feels himself relaxing into the activity. “You should tell that to Kuroba-nii san,” his charge says eventually, voice nearly inaudible over the sound of violent splashing.

On dry land, Kuroba is juggling a handful of lightsticks, brilliant smile visible even from this distance. 

“He’s rather something else, isn’t he?” Hakuba murmurs quietly, more to himself than to anyone else, but Conan’s eyes are thoughtful on his. “Clever, brilliant, but so full of himself and terrible mistakes.”

“Why do people make mistakes? What counts as a mistake? If I meant to do my best in a class quiz but failed because I got the question wrong, is it my fault? I don’t understand.” Conan’s face screws up in dislike, small hands tightening around his own. “I don’t like it. You’re being mean. I’m going to swim with Hattori-nii san.”

Conan’s hands slip from his own, and Hakuba trails after him as he paddles his way agonizingly slowly back to Hattori, ready to buoy him if he tires. Hattori is doing backstrokes leisurely across the width of the pool, chatting amiably with Kuroba, the conversation pausing at their approach.

“Oh, good,” says Kuroba, and produces a bottle of water from somewhere. “Come here, Conan. I know you don’t really need it, but it will be good to keep up your water intake at least for now. Are you having fun?”

Conan doesn’t answer, but nods as they help him sit on the edge of the pool, gulping water thirstily. 

“So wanna swap?” Hattori offers, stretching out his arms in the water. “I’m getting all pruney in here, and I betcha Conan wants to swim with you.”

“I’ve got food in my bag if you want any.” Kuroba caps the bottle once more when Conan returns it, Hattori pulling himself out of the water. “Don’t forget water too.”

“Don’t you try to mother me,” Hattori waves a hand casually back, scrubbing a hand through his hair to rid of the excess water. 

Laughter draws Hakuba’s attention back to Conan, and he throws an arm up at the splash that Kuroba makes when he jumps into the pool with a running start. He emerges still laughing, and Hakuba watches as he holds out a hand towards Conan.

“Come here,” he murmurs, warm, affectionate, trusting, and Conan leaps.

Their laughter ring out around the poolside, and Hattori grins as he sets up shop with a drawn up chair near the edge, a half peeled banana in one hand. 

“Good night,” he says. “ _ Great _ night.”

Admittedly, Hakuba will be hard pressed to disagree.

::

The car smells of chlorine when they all pile sleepily back in. The netting is still glowing when Kuroba loads it into the trunk, and Hakuba sneaks one of the light sticks into his own pocket when his classmate isn’t looking. Hattori is asleep by the time they’re ready to head home, and Hakuba reaches over to buckle Conan in, placing a blanket over the boy’s sleeping form and settling his feet over his lap.

Kuroba turns to check that everyone is safely buckled in, before nodding and starting the car. The red digits over the dashboard show that it is something past three-thirty in the morning, and Hakuba could care less about the time when he is pleasantly tired, exhaustion a heavy blanket over his bones.

“Do you do this often?” 

There’s a quiet slurping as Kuroba breaks into a jelly pack, taking a turn slowly so as not to jostle his passengers in the backseat as they go over a hump. “No,” Kuroba says eventually. “Not really. It’s terrifying - swimming in the dark. It would be too quiet. Can’t see or hear anything. Where’s the fun in swimming blind? That’s like - drowning.”

He can’t tell very well in the dark, but if someone were to ask him, he would say that in that moment, Kuroba looked… lonely. Like a single light shining from between the gap of half-open curtains, when it’s late at night and everyone else has gone to sleep, a distant kind of warmth that one can only guess at but never dream to close the distance of. The night, Hakuba understands, is forgiving. Without the harsh brightness of day and the guidance of the sun, words, much like colours will only come out in various degrees of grey. Shapeless confessions. Kuroba will probably let something slip, if he presses. May want to let something slip. It is after all, only human.

“We’ll go to the beach next time,” Hakuba says instead, leaning against the pillow that he has tucked between the car door and himself. “And you’ll drive.”

“Me? Why me? And why the beach?” Kuroba sounds disgusted. Hakuba has his eyes closed, and can’t see the expression on his face, but he can very well guess. “There’s… there’s broken glass, and  _ stone fish _ , and like, sea urchins. The beach isn’t safe.”

“I’m sure we’ll all be able to look after ourselves. You can build sandcastles while we swim, of course.” The thread of conversation tugs in his grip, and Hakuba willingly relinquishes it, content with his decision not to follow. “I’m sure Conan will be really happy. Once, we took him to a beach in Crantock, but he was terribly young, and wasn’t impressed.”

“Crantock. Do we have any beaches in Japan that can match up to that?” Kaito scoffs. “All of you are going to fry like a banana fritter in the sun. Must have been nice, I bet.”

Hakuba hums unintelligibly, drifting in the comfortable state of not quite entirely asleep. “You can come with us, next time. Maybe not Crantock, something like Botany Bay. I’ve never been there myself, either… “

“I’m not rich enough to fly to the UK at a moment’s notice, you rich idiot… “

Hakuba laughs quietly, and when he dreams, he dreams of Kaito, in his school uniform, all around them the sound of rushing water and a gentle, radiant blue.

::

As expected, everyone sleeps in for entirely too long the next day, and Hakuba calls everyone in sick to school. Conan wakes at the sound of his voice, and shuffles out to wash up, before shuffling back in just as he is ending the last call.

“Good morning, Conan-kun.”

“Morning, Hakuba-nii san… “ Conan yawns, and then clambers right back into bed. “He’s sleeping in the kitchen.”

It turns out to be Kuroba, a mug of still warm coffee by his elbow on the kitchen table, head pillowed on his arms as he sits cross-legged on his chair, managing not to fall off. Hakuba spends a moment watching him, taking in the dark smudges underneath his eyes, before bundling him up and carrying him off to bed in a guest bedroom. Miraculously, he doesn’t stir, and Hakuba shuts the door silently behind him when he leaves.

“Conan, may I borrow your bow tie for a moment?”

He calls Kaito in sick as well, disguising his voice as Kaito’s own. Later, when Hattori wakes, he will put together breakfast. For now, he retreats into his study. There’s a message from Kudou when he wakes his computer from sleep, and he clicks on it.

_ I don’t think it’s too far-fetched a theory. _   
_ Be careful with him. _

**Author's Note:**

> 5160763.tumblr.com
> 
> How on earth do you make this a link


End file.
